Articulated beds are known in the art. Such beds typically include a frame and a body supporting surface, such as a mattress. Mechanisms are provided to cause portions of the body supporting surface to be moved with respect to one another (such mechanisms are usually either mechanical or electro/mechanical). For example, such mechanisms typically allow the bed to be selectively articulated to position the feet or head of a person lying on the body supporting surface to be disposed in an elevated manner.
The general advantages of such articulated beds are well known. To date, however, such articulated beds have a number of problems associated therewith. For example, such beds are typically operated by accessing a fixed position control panel. This often makes operation of the bed inconvenient, or even impossible, for some users. Remote control devices are of course generally known in the art, and generally do not require a fixed location control panel. Use of such devices with articulated beds gives rise to other problems, however. For example, where a number of articulated beds are located in relatively close proximity to one another (such as in a hospital, nursing home, apartment complex, or the like), remote control signals intended for one bed are likely to be received and acted upon by other beds as well, thereby negating the positive benefits of comfort and/or therapeutic value ordinarily associated with such beds.
Other problems exist as well. Though it is desirable to provide a plurality of motors in such a bed to accommodate a variety of body supporting surface alterations and/or to impart vibration to various parts of the body supporting surface, facilitating easy control of such functions becomes significantly more challenging as the number of functions to be controlled increases. Also, a potentially more serious problem concerns provision of power to the various motors in the bed. Typically, such beds are provided with AC power (50 or 60 Hz at various known voltage levels, such as 110, 120, or 240 volts), and this power is used to power the motors. The use of such levels poses a potential risk to the user of the bed; a short circuit between the user and the AC power, however inadvertent or brief, can be life threatening.
A need therefore exists for an articulated bed that avoids the need for a fixed location control panel, that can be remotely operated without interfering with the operation of other similarly operated beds nearby, that can readily accommodate a relatively generous number and variety of motor control signals in a substantially user friendly manner, and that minimizes the risk of electric shock.